Remembering 9/11

This won't be a regular blog post concerning golf, because today is the anniversary of 9/11.

Eleven years ago the World Trade Center fell and I can still remember exactly where I was when I heard the news.

I was 18 at the time, taking a break before college. I worked at Laurel Oak Country Club in Sarasota in the cart barn, owing to my affinity for golf.

I was living at home and my mom, who is retired, and my dad, who had the day off, both woke me up a few hours before my alarm was set to go off.

Confused, I quickly collected myself and walked to the living room where I saw the television coverage of the damage caused to the one tower.

Then ... the second plane crashed into the other tower and it became quite apparent that it was no accident.

I recall former President George W. Bush was in town that day to read to elementary school students and that my brother was still in high school.

Cell phone usage wasn't as prevalent as it is today, so there wasn't much instant communication. Traditional mass media like newspapers, radio and TV were the sources for what was happening.

I also remember how much it had rained, like it usually does in September here on the Suncoast.

It poured so much that the course was closed, yet I still was required to work, in case members needed their bags to play somewhere else.

Most of the time I spent in the pro shop alongside a former assistant pro there, watching the cable news outlets covering the massive story.

I didn't do much golfing that day or right after. Everything seemed irrelevant to what transpired on this day, 11 years ago.